I decided to head up to Prescott Peninsula to scout out my whip
poor will survey route to see if the road is passable all the way down to my
first survey stop before trying the route some upcoming evening (I'll save you
any more suspense, the road is not passable) plus I wanted to start some of my
field surveys. I made it up to New Salem a little before six and just before
heading in I came across a very cooperative Moose that crossed the road right in
front of me and then stopped just off the road to feed in a marsh....always nice
to see (as long as they don't cross in front of me on rt 202). I spent about
three hours on the peninsula and had some good numbers of various breeding
species although my counts are certainly minimum counts as I didn't spend a lot
of time exploring in great detail. As mentioned above my survey route needs a
little work as the road is blocked by a large tree a couple miles short of my
first survey stop. I will let the powers that be about the tree and hope they
can get it removed soon. No luck finding any crossbills on my trip in this time
but the breezy conditions made it tough to hear any that might be around. The
Prescott Peninsula is one of the few places in the state that this species has
been known to breed so it would be nice to come across them again. I have
included the eBird list for Prescott below:http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S18631501

On my way home to get Wilson I made a
brief stop at the Packardville Rd marsh and had a few cooperative Canada
Warblers among the other species present. The rest of the day continued to be
breezy with a mix of clouds and sun and occasional showers.

Now that May has come to an end I will take a look at the bird numbers and stats for the month. Overall I found a total of 175 species in Hampshire County just this month which I believe is probably my highest May total...a very good month! I stand at 213 species for Hampshire County so far this year which is three ahead of last years record setting pace (I reached 213 last year in mid June). Even though I had no intention to try another big county year I have been having such a great year in the county so far I figured I would try again although the chances of beating my record last year of 236 are slim for a variety of reason (at least without a well placed tropical system and some winter irruptives)...but more about that another time perhaps.

Although it was another cool morning it eventually warmed nicely into the 70's
again...certainly feeling more like September with cool mornings and days
warming up with low humidity. I'm sure it will change soon but it is enjoyable
now. I started off my morning over at UMASS trying to catch up with a reported
Lawrence's Warbler but didn't have any luck tracking it down. I tracked down every Blue winged Warbler today (like I always do) but no
hybrids among them although it is neat to see some of the variation among
individuals of a species. I did run across a few leg tagged Song
Sparrows on Orchard Hill which I managed to get a few marginal shots of as I was
heading out. I assume it is someone's project at UMASS and if I hear any
details about it I will post an update. The northwest part of campus
also held a nice variety of birds but nothing too unusual. My next stop
was over to the rail trail where I found the mudflats nearly devoid of birds with just a
single Spotted Sandpiper and a couple Killdeer.

I then headed home early to
pick up Wilson and we went for a long walk along the land trust trail in
Belchertown and managed to come across a great bird when we were off on a side
trail in some deeper woods...a Gray cheeked Thrush seen in direct compassion to
a nearby Hermit Thrush (which eventually it chased). The bird had no hint of
rufous at all so I feel confident it was not a Bicknell's although the bird was
silent. Usually I get Gray cheeked Thrush as a nocturnal migrant by flight call
so it is always fun to actually get to see it during the day. The thrush became species #213 for the county this year. No photo as I only had my binos and phone and the bird didn't stay still long enough to grab a shot. Also had another Black billed Cuckoo which allowed for some great views...seems like a good year for this species.

Broad winged Hawk, Covey WMA, May 30, 2014

Blue winged Warbler, Covey WMA, May 30, 2014

Blue winged Warbler, Quabbin Park, May 30, 2014

After our
long walk I dropped Wilson off at home and I headed out again with stops at
Covey WMA and a small part of Quabbin Park. I did catch a snippet of a call from a large marsh at Covey WMA that sounded a lot like a Common Gallinule but I only heard it once and lots of searching didn't turn up anything...probably just a frog, but who knows? Also had a Peregrine Falcon flying by quite high. I don't know of any nesting falcons anywhere close by so I wonder where the bird came from.

Overall not too many
obvious migrants with most birds seemingly on territory. The exception to that
would of course be the previously mentioned Gray cheeked Thrush as well as
several Blackpoll Warblers at a few different stops. Migration is rapidly coming to a close but there are always birds moving so interesting stuff could still show up at any time.

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Certainly a change in the weather from yesterday to today
with sun and clouds yesterday with temperatures in the 80’s and low clouds,
drizzle with temperatures in the low 50’s.Yesterday I made a brief stop at Silvio Conte NWR in Hadley trying in
vain to catch up with the reported Blue Grosbeak there.I did have the continued Olive sided
Flycatcher as well as at least three Orchard Orioles (adult male, adult female
and 1st year male) plus a cooperative Black billed Cuckoo among the
just over 50 species present.This morning I
decided to head over to Winsor Dam in the hopes the bad weather grounded some
birds.The first bird I found there was
a late Horned Grebe in breeding plumage.Not quite my latest record for the species but it is getting close.Wish I had more time to check other areas for
other stuff but no time today.I imagine
some other good stuff was just out there waiting to be found.

My plans for the morning included a trip up to Prescott Peninsula
to check out my whip poor will survey route but when I got up it was raining
lightlyand cool...what the hell happened to sunny and in the mid 80's? I took a quick
look at the radar and noticed quite a bit of rain around so I ditched my
original plan and headed over to Quabbin Park instead. I dodged rain showers on and off
through the first few hours of the morning as I made various stops trying to
turn up some good stuff. I also made a couple brief diversions to Lake Wallace
and Covey WMA in the hopes of running across an Olive sided Flycatcher but no
luck. I think the rain and cooler temperatures kept the activity a bit lower
than usual and the rain didn't result in any unusual birds getting grounded (if
only the rain had hit a few hours earlier). Around 8:30 or so I got a call from
Bob Z. that he had a Blue Grosbeak at Silvio Conte NWR but he no longer had the
bird and had just brief looks at it. As I was a distance out on one of the
trails at Quabbin I decided I would probably not go after it today. As I was
getting close to the car Bob called again and said he also had an Olive sided
Flycatcher there too so I decided that was enough to get me to make the trip
over there. I arrived there just before 9:30 and met up with Bob and we
searched in vain for the grosbeak but I was able to find the Olive sided
Flycatcher teed up quite a distance away. The Olive sided Flycatcher became
species #212 for Hampshire County this year. Lots of other flycatchers around
too as well as the continued Orchard Orioles and several species of
warblers. With more rain threatening I headed back to the car and made my way
back home where the rain continued through midday.

In other news the Massachusetts
big day record was recently broken by a team made up of Ian Davies, Luke Seitz, Vern
Laux and Peter Trimble when they reached a total of 195 species in 24 hours on May 24th.

Glad I was able to help with the scouting of areas before the
attempt and look forward to next year when I can give some assistance once again
and help them reach 200 species.

Bay breasted Warbler, Home, Belchertown, MA, May 26, 2014

Among the 13 species of warbler in the yard today was my fifth Bay breasted Warbler at the house and my ninth in Hampshire County this spring....what a great spring for this species! Also at least seventeen Common Nighthawks moving northeast including a group of 16 together at just after 5PM.

This morning was the annual Poverty Mountain bird census up at
Kevin Weirs property in Shutesbury and Amherst. As we were not starting until
7am I had a bit of time before hand to check a few spots nearby including the
rail trail and Orchard Hill at UMASS. The morning was very foggy which limited
visibility a bit but the birds were still singing. Highlights along the rail
trail included the continued Ruffed Grouse which is quite tame and I had a fun
time just standing there as it came up to me and occasionally pecked at my
shoes...no idea how this bird has not been picked off by a predator or someone
on a bike. I also had a calling Black billed Cuckoo among the other more
typical species. Orchard Hill held the typical assortment of birds with a total
of 38 species but nothing out of the ordinary. Below are links to video of the grouse from along the rail trail:

I arrived at Kevin's
place just before seven and we split up into smaller groups to scour the acreage
up there looking for various species. I still don't have the total numbers yet
but our group had good numbers of a few species of warbler including
Blackburnian, Black throated Green, Black throated Blue Warblers and Ovenbirds
plus a few other usual ones including Blackpoll, Nashville and Wilson's
Warblers. Also a good showing of thrushes in our mainly forested section.
After a couple hours there I had to head back home.

Common Nighthawk, Belchertown, MA, May 25, 2014

Common Nighthawk, Belchertown, MA, May 25, 2014

Common Nighthawk, Belchertown, MA, May 25, 2014

Common Nighthawk, Belchertown, MA, May 25, 2014

I spent the vast majority of the rest of the day around the house and had a nice selection of birds totalling almost sixty species. Mostly resident breeding birds but a nice show of at least a dozen Common Nighthawks migrating north.

With the south winds overnight we should see a push of migrants come in but the overall variety is starting to get low as May rapidly comes to an end. We shall see what tomorrow morning brings us.

After finishing up some work around the house I had a few spare minutes so I checked out the Quabbin camera and the waters looked calm so I decided to try my luck once again there trying to turn up something unusual. My goal was to try to turn up a Black Tern but what I eventually found instead was even better! I arrived at Winsor Dam and did a quick scan but noticed the state police out playing with their new boat again so I didn't have much expectation in finding anything there. I expected the area to be crawling with people but it was not too bad for an early afternoon on a holiday weekend. With this in mind I decided I would head over to Quabbin Park itself and check the waters at Goodnough Dike and Hank's Meadow (usually I would avoid this area on the weekend like the plague). I hiked down to a view point northwest of Goodnough Dike and scanned around. I found a few loons and a Spotted Sandpiper but not much else. I stayed there for awhile scanning when I caught sight of a bird on the water way out. I got the scope on it and immediately noticed the bird spinning in the water...spinning like a phalarope! Even at 60X power the bird was small and tough to pick features off of but I saw enough to identify it as a Red necked Phalarope. A truly rare bird inland in Massachusetts and one I mentioned as a possibility a few days ago given the on and off rain. The bird became not only #211 for the county this year but it was also a new Hampshire County bird for me (#280) and one of the few recent records of this species in the county. The phalarope also became 223 for Quabbin Park and number 233 overall for Quabbin (yeah...I keep lists for lots of places). It also became the third (and final) phalarope species for me in the county (my other sightings included a Red Phalarope found at Quabbin Park on May 20, 2011 and a Wilson's Phalarope near Arcadia on May 26, 2004). I watched the bird for several minutes and it would occasionally make short flights before settling back down to feed again. I thought I could get a better view by moving down closer to Goodnough which was indeed the case although the bird was still way out there. I watched the bird for 20+ minutes and despite spotty cell service managed to get word out about the bird. It eventually made a few more flights as it moved north and west and eventually out of my view around 2:30pm. I tried to relocate it after that but didn't have any luck. Before the bird left I took many photos (and a few videos) with my iPhone through the scope and a few came out OK. Although distant the photos show the field marks to ID the bird including the rufous neck, white throat, dark cap and dark markings on wings. And to think I almost didn't head out at all again this afternoon and if activity had been different at my earlier stop at Winsor Dam I probably would not have headed over to Goodnough. In the end it was a quite a bit of luck and timing and proved once again sometimes it just pays to go back out!

I spent the rather cool morning today around Quabbin Park (with a brief detour over to Lake Wallace). I hoped to find some unusual stuff but nothing too crazy around this morning. I did manage to find both species of cuckoo at Quabbin but not too many obvious migrants with most birds appearing to be residents. I did have a few Blackpoll Warblers at Lake Wallace but otherwise all resident birds there too. I headed home around 9am to pick up Wilson and head out for a walk.

Yesterday morning started off rather gloomy with low clouds and
occasional drizzle and light showers. I had high hopes for something of
interest being grounded by the weather but the conditions were not optimal for
this to happen but figured I would try anyway. I got to Winsor Dam before five
and had a couple Eastern Whip Poor Wills calling plus a couple Common Nighthawks
feeding over the water. Out on the water I had seven Common Loons, a couple
Wood Ducks, five Common Mergansers and a distant Mute Swan plus at least two Spotted
Sandpipers working the shoreline. Also had at least two young eagles in the nest but there may have
been a third. Without too much at Winsor Dam and the gates to the park not open
yet I decided to head elsewhere. A brief stop at Beaver Lake in Ware was fairly
unproductive with geese being the only waterfowl. I then decided to make the trip across the river and try my luck
up at the Old Pilgrim Airport. Unfortunately that long trip over there was not
really worth it with the only shorebirds around being a Spotted Sandpiper and a
Killdeer...oh well. I then headed back across the river after checking a few
fields in Hatfield without anything of note found. My next stop was over to the
rail trail in Amherst with the main focus being possible shorebirds on the
mudflats at Hop Brook and perhaps an Olive sided Flycatcher somewhere along the
trail. The mudflats produced five species of shorebird including three
Killdeer, a couple Spotted Sandpiper, a Solitary Sandpiper, 16 Least Sandpipers
(including one with a bright white patch on its back that I couldn't tell for
certain what it was) plus a single Semipalmated Sandpiper. I tried to make the
Semipalmated Sandpiper into something more unusual but could not....nonetheless
it was still a new species for the county this year, #210. Lots of other
flycatchers around but not the one I hoped to find. After the rail trail it was
another stop back at Winsor Dam but the water was fairly quiet although I did
have a Black billed Cuckoo calling behind the admin building. Although it was still somewhat early I
decided to head home and pick up Wilson to head out for a walk. We headed down
to the land trust trail and walked up to a small field that did have an unusual
species in it the other day, a Clay colored Sparrow found by Devin. We actually ran across him there and despite
quite a bit of looking we could not turn the bird up...perhaps it left or it was
just being stealthy? Other good stuff around there but nothing too
unusual. Once I dropped Wilson back off at home I headed over to Quabbin Park
but due to the road being closed for work I couldn't check some good
areas. Nevertheless I still had good stuff including a single flock of 19
Double crested Cormorants on the water west of Goodnough Dike. I also had a
Great Horned Owl calling at the same area at just after noon...odd. A few other
migrants noted but the vast majority of birds appeared to be on
territory.

The later afternoon I spent at home produced a decent show of
birds around the yard including another Tennessee Warbler, a Blackpoll Warbler
and a Blackburnian Warbler among the 13 species of warblers around plus loads of other stuff. Also had a brief look at one the Gray Foxes as it ran back in under the shed when I walked by.

Orchard Oriole, rail trail, Amherst, MA, May 22, 2014

Orchard Oriole, rail trail, Amherst, MA, May 22, 2014

Eastern Kingbird, rail trail, Amherst, MA, May 22, 2014

Before work on Thursday I took a walk along the rail trail before getting rained out. Nothing too extreme but a singing first year Orchard Oriole was nice to see and hear. With the continued on and off showers and low clouds I made a brief stop at Winsor Dam on my way home. Highlight there was eight Common Loons in a few small groups.

After seeing the reports yesterday of various shorebird
species including Black bellied Plovers and Short billed Dowitchers at the old
Pilgrim Airport in Hatfield I decided to head up there early this morning to
see what I could find.I arrived there
just before sunrise and started scanning around the field and found a few
shorebirds.I then noticed a coyote
walking the edge of the field and headed in my direction.The coyote started flushing birds including a
group of three Short billed Dowitchers that flew around and I believed settled
back down way back in the field.The
dowitchers became species # 209 for
the count this year.The coyote continued
to flush birds as it moved through which actually got me views of some birds I
probably would have missed.I also had a
very brief view of an interesting shorebird that got flushed by a Red tailed
Hawk that may have been an Upland Sandpiper but the view was very brief and I
was not able to relocate it during my hour looking around up there.I managed to find at least nine species of
shorebird including the following: a Semipalmated Plover, five Killdeer, a Spotted
Sandpiper, three Solitary Sandpipers, two Greater Yellowlegs, two Lesser
Yellowlegs, 22 Least Sandpipers, three Short billed Dowitchers and a Wilson’s
Snipe.No luck with the Black bellied
Plovers this morning but with the upcoming rainy weather more of them could
show.

A bit about the upcoming rainy weather and what
impact it could have on birds.The rain
should begin sometime overnight tonight and continue on and off through early
Saturday.The wind direction will change
from south to east to northeast during this period and the temperatures will
not get much above 60.Given the dates
the chance is there yet again for some unusual birds to be grounded by the
weather including terns, gulls, shorebirds and waterfowl.Some specific unusual species to keep an eye
out for would include Arctic Tern and Red Phalarope (or even Red necked
Phalarope) among others.It could once
again be well worth the effort to check bodies of water and fields to see what
might be out there.The cool
temperatures will also impact swallows and swifts and in similar conditions in
the past these species could congregate in sheltered areas of river and lakes
as they attempt to find food in the cool, damp weather.Areas to check would include Quabbin, the
Connecticut River (most anywhere could be productive), the oxbow in
Northampton, the Old Pilgrim Airport and any of a number of farm fields along
the river.

Gray Foxes, home, Belchertown, MA, May 20, 2014

Meanwhile at home, besides the
various birds around, I have a family of Gray Foxes living under one of our sheds including at least six
pups.I watched the pups play for an hour
last night near dusk…really cool stuff.

On Tuesday morning I headed over to UMASS at first light to try to catch some birds enjoying the first rays of the sun on another cool morning. I was rewarded with some great birds including an amazing seven Tennessee Warblers in just over an hour with up to three in one tree. I also had my first of the year Yellow billed Cuckoo (#208) in some dense brush on the northwest end of campus. Wish I had more time to poke around but reality got in the way.

Although it was not a huge migration night last night the radars
showed some stuff moving plus the temperature was forecast to be down in the low
40's so I figured I could find some good stuff if I found a spot where the sun
hit early on. One great spot for early morning activity on a morning like that
can be Orchard Hill at UMASS. I headed out from the house early and figured I
had a little time before the light would be right at Orchard Hill so I stopped
briefly at Hop Brook along the rail trail in the hopes of finding some
shorebirds. The mudflat is back covered again due to the rain from the previous
day so only had a single Solitary Sandpiper. Hopefully the water level drops a
bit in the next few days and the mud gets exposed again. Once I arrived at
Orchard Hill the activity started right away with calling Blackpoll Warblers. I
eventually found a total of twenty species of warblers between Orchard Hill,
Sylvan Woods and the NW part of campus with highlights including two Bay
breasted Warblers, four Tennessee Warblers and several Blackpoll Warblers. I
have included the lists below for my time at UMASS.

I then headed
back east to Quabbin with a brief stop at Winsor Dam which was very windy. I
then hit just a couple spots between the Winsor Memorial and the Swift River and turned
up more good birds but nothing too unexpected. No luck with the Cerulean
Warbler once again so it may have moved on but I haven't given on it trying to
nest here yet. A total of 23 species of warblers today at my various stops and at home...not too bad considering the wind at time.

In addition to the weather related birds I saw
yesterday morning (Caspian Tern, Black bellied Plover and various species of waterfowl) a few other
interesting birds were noted including a very rare inland Red necked Phalarope
in Williamstown on the Hoosic River, another Red necked Phalarope in Guilford,
CT in a marsh and a Black bellied Plover in Deerfield. Makes me wonder what
else was out there in out of the way places that got missed. You never know
what you will find when you head out, especially when the weather is
'bad'.